


safe house in the hurricane

by nirav



Series: a child of god, much like yourself [15]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-06-10 04:22:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6939499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirav/pseuds/nirav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>tumblr prompt: Alex having to choose between helping Lucy and Depowered Kara in a fight and the aftermath of that<br/>second tumblr prompt: lucy's family finds out about their relationship</p><p>[aka, Alex has no good choices, Lois is not helpful, and General Lane is generally displeased]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_this is my safe house in the hurricane_   
_it is where my love lays 200 treasured bones_   
_this is my warmth behind the cold war_   
_that day is what i'm living for forever coming home_

It’s just dinner.

They’re just at dinner, Alex and Lucy and Kara, because it’s Saturday and they need some time off and a girl’s night.  It’s dinner, easy and familiar, the three of them at a table in the corner with beers and nachos.  It’s dinner with her sister and her-- well-- her Lucy, and things are good.  They’ve been there for hours, easy and comfortable, as the restaurant empties out and the clock approaches midnight.

Then Kara wavers, wincing and pushing her hand against her forehead.

“What’s up?”

“I-- I don’t know,” Kara says, and her voice shakes and shoulders slump.  “I think--”

“Kara,” Alex says sharply just before Kara slumps down at the table, all but unconscious. “Kara!”

Then the side of the building blows in and the force of the explosion separates them all.

* * *

 

Alex’s ears are ringing, but her vision clears more quickly; Kara is on the floor and knocked out, her glasses broken, and Lucy is nowhere to be seen.

“Kara,” she gasps out, pulling herself free of debris and staggering to her feet.  Somewhere in the periphery she can see glowing flashes of bright green from outside.  Kryptonite.  Enough of it that Kara was knocked out by it.  Alex stumbles over to Kara, dropping down to her knees at her side and gathering her up.  Sound comes back to her, the sharp crack of gunshots piercing through the echoing ringing in her ears, and she ducks over Kara’s body instinctually.

“Lucy,” she mumbles.  She can’t see Lucy anywhere.  Alex fumbles for her phone, fingers slick with blood from a gash in her arm, and manages to cue up a distress call to the DEO.   

There’s shouting now, and Alex looks up through the dust to where Lucy-- Lucy!-- is up on her feet on the sidewalk outside, dodging punches from a man in a suit that looks suspiciously like the Kryptonite-enhanced one that Non had forced Alex into.  Across the street is a bank, the front blown out and a pickup truck with a pile of kryptonite the size of a golf cart in the bed.

Alex clenches her fists and climbs to her feet, unsteady but unaware of it, and starts out to help Lucy.  She vaults over debris and is halfway there when Lucy takes an uppercut to the jaw that lifts her off the ground and sends her flying back into a car.  Alex yells for her, watching helplessly as her body slams down onto the hood of a car, reaching for a gun she for once doesn’t have-- _fuck_ , how could she be that stupid, even dinner is a risk-- when the broken building behind her groans loudly and the ceiling starts to give.

Alex freezes, halfway between Lucy, who’s barely conscious and has a kryptonite-enhanced criminal advancing on her, and Kara, who’s unconscious and powerless.  Lucy is dazed and looks around, catching Alex’s eye briefly before managing to get her arms up to deflect a blow.  

Alex closes her eyes briefly and then turns and runs, sprinting back into the restaurant.  She manages to hoist Kara up on her shoulders and get her out of the building, barely, before the ceiling gives way and the whole building caves in on itself, sending dust and debris billowing out into the chaos on the sidewalks.

Spotlights flood the street and that’s her team rappelling out of helicopters and taking out the men in the Kryptonite suits.  Alex drops down onto her knees on the sidewalk and hauls Kara off her shoulders and down onto the ground, cradling her head gently.

“Director Danvers.”  That’s Harrison, one of her team leaders, and Alex looks up blankly at him.

“Find Lane,” she croaks out, coughing on the dust in the air.  “And get that goddamned truck away from here.”

“Yes ma’am.”  He takes two of the team with him, disappearing into the dust, and Alex bends over Kara, shaking her gently and mumbling, over and over and over, “Please be okay” to wherever Lucy is.

* * *

 

The team hauls the truck away, getting it out of range, and slowly, Kara wakes up.

“Hey,” Alex says, sniffling but smiling.  “You okay?”

“What--”

“Bank robbery, I think,” Alex says.  “Looks like Non wasn’t very careful about keeping his technology to himself.  They had the suits and a goddamned truckload of Kryptonite.”

“Are you okay?” Kara sits up, grabbing for Alex’s bloody arm.  “You’re hurt--”

“It’s nothing,” Alex says.  

“Where’s Lucy?”

Alex grinds her teeth together, not looking away from the blood on her hands.  “I had to-- the building was going down, you were-- I had to--”

“Alex,” Kara says, her voice wavering.  

“Director Danvers!” Harrison yells from the other side of the street.  “We found Major Lane!”

Alex and Kara both scramble up to their feet and stumble across the street, stopping abruptly at the sight of one of Harrison’s soldiers on her knees at Lucy’s side, frantically bandaging a gash that stretches from her shoulder straight down over her sternum.  Her shirt is ripped away for the bandages and even with Miller working to stop the bleeding from her chest, the contusions along the left side of her abdomen and ribcage are violently visible.

“Oh, God,” Alex groans out.  She turns to Kara, eyes wide and shining, and before she can even open her mouth Kara has ripped off her jeans and t-shirt to expose her uniform and gathered Lucy up, flying away fast enough that she almost breaks the sound barrier again.

Alex all but collapses, her knees giving out and her arms barely enough to hold onto Harrison’s shoulder.

“Get me a car,” she grinds out.  “And a radio.”

* * *

 

“Director Danvers,” Vasquez says over the radio.  “Supergirl made contact.  She’s at Presbyterian on Flower Street, in the ER.”

“Go faster,” Alex snaps at Harrison, who skids the SUV around a corner and blasts through red lights, elbow on the horn and siren blaring.  

“Ma’am,” Harrison says calmly, not taking his eyes off the road.  He barrels through an intersection, dodging a taxi.  “Major Lane will be okay.”

“I should have--”

“Ma’am,” he says again.  “Don’t.”

“Just drive, Matt,” she says, her mouth frozen in a grimace.

The whole SUV shakes as he pushes the engines harder.

* * *

 

Harrison skids to a stop in front of the ER and Alex leaps out of the car before it stops, sprinting in through the ambulance bay.  Kara’s red cape is visible down the long hallway and she shoves people out of her way, almost running right into Kara, who’s got her arms folded over her stomach and is staring at the team of doctors and nurses swarming around Lucy.

“Oh my God,” Alex says again.  “Is she-- what--”

“Her lung is perforated,” Kara says tightly.  “Her heart stopped right after we got here.”

Alex grips at Kara’s arm, so hard the bones all the way up her arm hurt.  The hallway tilts and spins and blurs, the ground swirling under her feet as the whole world upends because Lucy’s heart stopped and Lucy could--  

“Why didn’t you choose her?” Kara says.  “I’m Kryptonian, I would have--”

“Kara,” Alex chokes out.  “I can’t-- please--”  Her knees give out and she falls, and Kara catches her before she hits the ground.

* * *

 

Lucy goes into surgery, and Alex paces.

Kara disappeared initially, taking her cape and vanishing at Vasquez’s firm suggestion of the radio, only to return as Kara, with her glasses and cardigans and James and Winn in tow.

Alex paces and doesn’t acknowledge when they show up, only stopping when James steps squarely in front of her.

“I’m so sorry,” she manages to get out, because she and Lucy are-- _something_ , something big and real and important-- but James has known and loved Lucy for years, so many years, and now--

“It’s not your fault,” he says, even though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but he helps Kara guide her over to another treatment room so a doctor can stitch up her arm.  Her shirt is ruined, the sleeve tattered and all of it covered in blood, and they conjure up a scrubs top to put her in once she’s cleaned and stitched and left to sit uselessly on a hospital bed.

It’s been three hours, and Lucy is still in surgery.

“Alex,” Kara says, sitting down next to her.  “You need to sleep.”

“What if she’s not okay?”

“You know how strong she is,” Kara says.  “We both do.  And I know how strong you are, so don’t give up on that right now.”  She’s stiff in her seat next to Alex, hands folded in her lap and arm inches from touching Alex’s.

“You’re angry,” Alex says.  She’s tired, so tired, but her hands won’t stay still and her foot bounces too quickly.  

“I’m not angry,” Kara says.  She’s never been a good liar, and her voice lilts up falsely like it always does when she tries.

“What else should I have done?”  Alex slides off the bed and starts pacing again.  “You could have _died_ , Kara!  With that much kryptonite nearby, if that building fell on you, that would have been it.”

“You don’t know that,” Kara says.  

“Yes, I do,” Alex says.  “I just--what was I supposed to do?  Choosing between my sister and my-- my--”

“Girlfriend?  Partner?  You can’t even admit to yourself how much you care about her, can you?”

“That’s not fair--”

“No, I think it is,” Kara snaps.  “How do you know you didn’t choose to save _me_ because it was easier than admitting what Lucy means to you?”

“That’s not fair,” Alex says.  Her arms curl around her stomach and her shoulders slump.  “Kara, please, I just-- I can’t lose you, you have to know that.”

“I know,” Kara says, sighing and rubbing at her forehead.  “I’m sorry, I just-- I care about Lucy, she’s one of my best friends, and--”

“And I let her down,” Alex mumbles.  She drops down into a chair.  “I know.”

“That’s not-- you made a choice.”  Kara kneels in front of her, hands covering hers.  “There was no right choice.  But can you really blame me for thinking that saving her was a more right choice than saving me?”

Alex finally breaks, head dropping and shoulders shaking as she cries, loud and painful and more than she has since the day she had to tell Kara that she killed Astra.

Kara holds her, strong and solid, until she finally cries herself to sleep.

* * *

 

There’s another two hours of uncomfortable waiting room chairs and a shift change before any news comes down the hallway.  A doctor appears in clean scrubs and asks quietly for the family of Lucy Lane, her jaw tight and eyes tired.

“We’re her-- we’re family,” Kara says, stumbling momentarily.  “I mean, her parents are on the way, but--”  She grabs at Alex’s shoulder and pulls her to the front.  

“Partner,” she says, pointing at Alex.  “Partner’s sister.”

“Miss Lane is in recovery,” she says after a long moment.  Alex’s stomach drops out and she leans against Kara, mouth dry and body too tired to move.  “Her ribs are badly broken and her left lung collapsed, and there’s some nerve damage in the left arm, but she should make a full recovery eventually.”

The nervous hum that’s kept Alex’s foot tapping and fingers drumming for the last five hours vanishes, and she passes out.

* * *

 

She wakes up in yet another hospital chair, her neck stiff.  Quiet, rhythmic beeping wakes her up, and she opens her eyes to see Lucy, unconscious and bruised, covered in bandages and wired into too many tubes and IVs, broken but alive.

Her phone is at barely ten percent, but there are texts from Kara letting her know that Lucy’s family will be in by lunchtime, that the rest of them went home, that Vasquez has the DEO well under control.  

Alex drags her chair over to Lucy’s bedside and picks up her less injured hand-- her knuckles are cut and bruised, her skin marred with signs of giving almost as good as she got in the fight-- with both of hers and waits.

Midmorning rolls around, sometime after the fifth check by nursing, and Alex hasn’t moved yet when the consistent rhythm of the heart monitor changes suddenly, speeding up just enough to catch Alex’s attention and jerk her out of her trance.

It’s not enough of a change to alert the nurses outside, Lucy’s heart rate speeding up by just a handful of beats per minute, but Alex grips her her hand anxiously anyways and grinds her teeth together, waiting.  Minutes drag by until Lucy groans, almost silently, and her eyes finally open.

“Hey,” Alex says.  “Hey, babe, how are you?”

“Hey,” Lucy mumbles out.  “Where--”

“Hospital,” Alex says quickly.  “You’re in the hospital.”

“Are you okay?  Is Kara--”

“Oh my God,” Alex grumbles.  “Seriously?  You almost get cut in half by ambitious bank robbers and you’re asking if _I’m_ okay?”

“Bank robbers,” Lucy mutters. “At dinner, there was an explosion-- Kara didn’t feel well.”

“They got ahold of a crapload of kryptonite,” Alex says sourly.  “Matt’s team rounded them up, they’re being held for questioning at the DEO right now.  We’ll hand them over to the police once we figure out how the hell they got ahold of all of that tech that Non was using.”

“The suits,” Lucy says, speaking slowly and with a furrowed brow.  “I remember they had some, they hit like trucks.”

“Yeah,” Alex says quietly.  “They do.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“Except you, yeah, we’re fine,” Alex says with a flat laugh.  “A little scraped up, but nothing major.”

“You got Kara out?”

“I--”  Alex freezes, throat drying up.  “Kara’s fine.”

The door pops open and in comes a nurse; he hurries over to Lucy’s side and starts chattering at her, checking her vitals and politely dispatching Alex to the other side of the room so he can check on her.  A doctor is called in, and Alex slips out of the room, phone in hand and with just enough battery left to call Kara.

Her phone dies shortly after she tells Kara that Lucy is awake, and then she drops down into a free chair outside of Lucy’s room and waits.

* * *

 

The doctors finally leave, emptying the room and waving Alex back in, and Alex makes her way to Lucy’s door with hesitant steps.

Lucy’s bed is propped up halfway, an extra pillow behind her head.  The edges of the bandages visible under her hospital gown look new.

“Hey,” Alex says from the doorway.  “Can I-- is it okay if I come in?”

“Of course it is,” Lucy says hoarsely.  “Duh.”

“Thank you,” Alex says.  She pulls the chair back over to Lucy’s bedside.  “Your family is on their way.  They should be here in a few hours.”

“What’s up with you?  You look like your dog died-- oh my God, is Matt’s team okay?”  Lucy’s voice rises and she starts to cough suddenly, the cough shifting abruptly into a groan at the pain in her abdomen.  Alex leaps from her chair and offers her a cup of water, her own hands shaking even as Lucy takes the water gratefully.

“Everyone is okay,” Alex says quietly.  

“Then what’s up with you?”

“You-- you’re _not_ okay,” Alex says.  She slumps back down into the chair, elbows on Lucy’s bedside but hands carefully not touching Lucy at all. “I should have--”

“Oh, come on, Alex,” Lucy says.  “Are you seriously going to apologize because you weren’t equipped on our night off to save me from a bunch of technologically superpowered criminals?”

“I’m apologizing because I didn’t try to,” Alex says sharply.  “I-- God, I saw you, I saw you go down, and Kara was unconscious and the building was about to collapse and I-- I chose to help Kara instead of you, and now you’re here and I just--”

She cuts herself off, withdrawing back into her seat and looking anywhere but at Lucy, fingers clenching around one another and jaw grinding.

It’s a long silence that builds between them, seconds dragging by tangibly with each beep of Lucy’s heart monitor, and Alex retreats further into herself right up until Lucy’s free hand reaches for hers.

“You made the right choice,” Lucy says finally.  

“I _left_ you--”

“You saved your sister,” Lucy says, firm and quiet.  “I don’t blame you for choosing her.”

“But you--”

“I’m still here,” Lucy says.  She grips tighter to Alex’s hand; her fingers are weak and the grip is useless but it still grounds Alex to the moment.  “I know how much you love her, Alex, I would have been furious if you left her to save me.”

“But I love you, too,” Alex mumbles out, all but inaudible.  

“What?”  

“I--” Alex takes a deep breath.  She adjusts her hold on Lucy’s hand, deliberately pushing her fingers between Lucy’s and holding on tight.  “I love you.  But I saved Kara and--”

“You-- what?  You do?”  Lucy stares at her, eyes as wide open as they can be under the painkillers and the swelling from her injuries.  “Alex, I swear to god, if you’re just saying this because you feel guilty--”

“I’m not,” Alex says.  She’s just so, so tired.  “I’m in love with you.  But I still chose my sister.  What kind of person does that make me?”

“Jesus Christ, Alex, are you serious?  You’re telling me this now?  When I’m stuck in a hospital bed and can’t--”

“I’m sorry,” Alex mumbles, unsure of where to direct her apology, and Lucy glares at her.

“I love you, too, you goddamned moron,” Lucy snaps.  “And the fact that you saved Kara doesn’t change that.”

“Why--”

“You are so stupid,” Lucy says, rolling her eyes.  She smiles, finally, small and pained but honest, and Alex blinks at her.  “Kara is your family.  Of course you should have chosen to save her.  She’s also Supergirl, so tactically it was the right decision, too.  But mostly she’s _family_ , so of course you chose her.”

“But why are you--”

“You think I only love you because of the exceedingly great sex or something?” Lucy rolls her eyes again.  “Come on, Alex, use that giant brain of yours.  I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you if you weren’t the kind of person who would set the world on fire to save her sister.”

“That doesn’t make any sense--”

“Will you shut your guilt up and listen to me, please?”

Alex’s mouth shuts with an audible click.

“Look,” Lucy says.  She pauses, fiddling with the controls on her bed, and stabs at the button to adjust it so she can sit more upright.  It takes long seconds, during which Alex tries to start speaking but is silenced by Lucy’s sharp glare, but Lucy is finally sitting up almost fully upright.

“Okay,” she starts again.  “Look.  You, Alex Danvers, magnificent fucking moron that you are and that I am in love with, are the most loyal and determined person I’ve ever met.  I knew what I was getting into when I started sleeping with you, and I knew what I was getting into when I pushed for something more than just sex, and I’m still in love with you and still think you made the right choice when you saved Kara instead of me.  I don’t love you any less because of that.”  Lucy winces, taking a slow breath.

“This is the part where you tell me how in love with me you are, too, you know,” she says after a moment.

“I just--how do we do this?  When this is our lives, every day?”  Alex sucks in a breath, not letting go of Lucy’s hand.  “What happens next time when I have to choose?”

“We deal with that when we get to it,” Lucy says.  She groans quietly.  “When can I have another shot of the opiates here, this shit hurts.”

“It’s been awhile, you’re probably due,” Alex says.  “I’ll go get a nurse.”  She stands slowly, finally letting go of Lucy’s hand.  She pauses, feet locked down on the floor, and picks up Lucy’s hand once more.  “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you, you know,” she adds softly.

“It wasn’t?”

“I wanted to-- I don’t know.  I wanted it to be something good, not because you almost died.”

“And here I thought I was going to have to drag it out of you kicking and screaming,” Lucy says with a smirk.  It looks dark on her, the cut in her lip and bruising over one side of her face dragging it sideways, and Alex winces.  “What with you having to be beaten over the head with every other step of this.”

“I don’t-- I’m not _completely_ emotionally useless, you know,” Alex grumbles.  “Or at least I wasn’t always.  I just...with everything going on, and Kara and Supergirl and all of that I’ve been so focused on--”

“Alex,” Lucy says sharply.  “I know.  I’m messing with you.  Now shut up and kiss me and then go get me some goddamned painkillers.”

She holds her hand out expectantly, huffing impatiently until Alex takes it and lets Lucy pull her closer.  Alex kisses her, soft and unsure, her free hand pressing gently against the less-injured side of Lucy’s face.

“I love you, you idiot,” Lucy says quietly.  “Now get me some painkillers, oh my God.”

“I love you, too,” Alex says, just as quiet, rolling the words around in her mouth, weighing them.  “And I’m sor--”

“Alexandra Danvers, if you apologize one more time I will stab you with my IV needle!”  Lucy tugs on her hand.  “Now, seriously, painkillers.  I need them before my family gets here and freaks out.”

“Right,” Alex says.  She pulls away and heads to the door, taking a deep breath.  She looks back briefly before opening the door.  Lucy is sitting up in bed, broken but alive, smiling around the injuries to her face, and Alex is in love with her.

Alex smiles, just barely, and opens the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tumblr prompt: lucy's family finds out about their relationship

Lucy is awake, and Alex finally sleeps.

It’s been nearly fourteen hours since they were at dinner, and one attack, one decision, five hours of surgery, and one conversation about love later, Alex finally falls asleep, screwed uncomfortably into a ball in a hospital chair at Lucy’s side.  

Kara blows into the room, dangerously close to super-speed, and brings a whoosh of wind with her that startles a groan out of Lucy and yanks Alex out of her sleep.

“What--” Alex is on her feet, barely, her body too exhausted to stay fully upright but her hand reaching for a gun she doesn’t have anyways.

“Sorry,” Kara whispers loudly.  She reaches for Lucy hesitantly, arms hovering for a moment until Lucy scowls at her and reaches for a hug as well.  “Your parents just got here,” she adds.  “They’re on their way up.”

“Right,” Lucy says.  She winces and pushes at the button to bring her bed upright.  “Both of them?”

“And your sister,” Kara says with a nod.  “I took the day off, obviously, but I’ll wait until they head out just-- just to be safe, if that’s okay.”

“Go, go,” Lucy says, waving limply with her good hand.  “Don’t worry about it.”

Kara squeezes her hand briefly and then darts over to Alex, who’s swaying on her feet, and hugs her as well.  “Here, I brought you clothes.”

“Thanks,” Alex mumbles into her shoulder, holding on tightly for a short moment before Kara slips back out into the hallway.  

“Do you want me to leave?” Alex asks quietly, pulling on her fingers and not quite meeting Lucy’s eyes.  “Do your parents--”

“Stay,” Lucy says, as firm as anyone could be full of painkillers.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Lucy says sharply.  “Stay.”

“Okay,” Alex says.  She digs a clean shirt and jeans out of the bag Kara handed her and strips out of the hospital scrubs she’d been wearing, shoving them back into the bag and dressing quickly.  She has time to dart forward and press a kiss to Lucy’s mouth and then hop back and straighten her hair somewhat before the door bursts open and General Lane hustles in on the heels of his wife.

“Hey, y’all,” Lucy says with half a smile and a wave; it pulls at the lacerations in her chest and she winces.  Alex stands, silent and unsure, with her hands clenched behind her back as Lucy’s mother pushes her way to the bedside, chattering loudly and throwing questions at her.  General Lane stands by the door, silent and fuming, and moves only to point at Alex and then jerk his thumb over his shoulder towards the door before stalking back out into the hallway.

Alex takes a deep breath before following him outside, pausing to shut the door softly, and continuing down to the side hallway he waits in.

“General Lane,” she starts, but he snaps a hand up to silence her, too much like Lucy, and Alex clenches her teeth together.

“What,” he says quietly.  “In the  _ hell _ happened to my daughter?”

“We-- she was off duty and there was an incident involving some of the technology used in the Myriad attack.  Major Lane intervened and was--”

“Where was your damn Supergirl?  How the hell did they get that tech?”

“Supergirl was incapacitated.  We have them in custody and are--”

“What the hell kind of operation are you running if a bunch of criminals got their hands on--”

“Dad!”  The sharp voice cuts through them both, and Alex looks over her shoulder to where another woman is glaring at him.  The dark hair and solid set to her mouth means she has to be Lois, and Alex clenches her hands even more tightly behind her back.  “Lucy wants to see you.”

“We’re not done here,” General Lane says, pointing at Alex before walking away.

“You’re the girl, aren’t you?” Lois says once he rounds the corner.  “Lucy’s told me about you.”

“What did she tell you, exactly?” Alex says, shoulders still tight.

“Don’t worry,” Lois says, smiling halfway.  It’s Lucy’s smile, and Alex grinds her teeth together.  “I know you two are together.  You don’t have to worry about that being an issue with my family.”

“Right, sure, your career military dad is okay with his daughter dating a woman.”

“Lucy’s been out since high school,” Lois says, sharp enough to make Alex wince.  “He’s a jerk about a lot of things, but not about that.”

“Oh,” Alex mumbles.  She rubs a hand over her forehead.  “I’m sorry, that was--”

“It’s okay,” Lois says.  “You’re probably pretty wiped out, if I had to guess.  Come on, let’s go get a cup of coffee.”

“Are you sure--”

“Yep,” Lois says, jerking her head towards the nearest break room.  “Mom’s going to take up at least the first twenty minutes just to herself.”

“Okay,” Alex says, letting out a slow breath.  She follows Lois down the hallway, collapsing onto a couch- she can’t take any more time in those chairs-- before she even gets her coffee and dropping her head back.  Lois settles down beside her after a few minutes and offers her a cup of coffee.  “Thanks.

“I didn’t know you two were close,” Alex adds after a long minute.  “When she first moved here she said you didn’t talk much.”

“Comes and goes,” Lois says with a shrug.  “It’s better when she’s not working directly with Dad, and ever since she resigned her commission entirely we’ve been-- well.  Better.”

“That’s good,” Alex mumbles.

“I don’t think she’s told our parents about you yet,” Lois says.  She takes a sip of her coffee and grimaces.  “Because you work together.”

“Also, your dad hates me already,” Alex says, drinking from her own coffee and making a face as much at the taste as at her history of not getting along with General Lane.  

“Yeah, can’t help you with that one,” Lois says with a shrug.  “But he’ll come around, eventually.”

“Is that so.” One of Alex’s eyebrows slants upwards.

“Eventually being the key element there,” Lois says.  She smiles at Alex.  “The important thing is that you make Lucy happy, which is ultimately what my parents care about.”

“Really?” Alex inhales a sip of coffee and coughs on it.  She glances over at Lois, who’s staring right back at her, smirking just like Lucy does.  

“Oh, trust me,” Lois says, elbowing Alex in the arm.  “I’ve been teasing my little sister for the last  _ year _ about the heart-eyes when she talks about you.”

Alex coughs loudly, clearing her throat and staring down at her coffee.

“You’re not really her type, you know,” Lois adds.  “She normally goes for the malleable artistic types.”

“I could be artistic, you know,” Alex mumbles into her coffee.

“Sure you can, champ.”  Lois winks at her, and Alex tries to glare; exhaustion trips her up and she yawns instead.

“You’re as much of a pain in the ass as she is, aren’t you?”  

“Oh, honey, no,” Lois says with a broad smile.  “I’m so much worse.  She unfortunately never really took to the whole asshole thing as much as I did.”

“Outstanding,” Alex says flatly.  She finishes her coffee and mumbles a quiet  _ thank you _ to Lois as she pulls herself up to her feet.  “Do you think it’s safe for me to go back in there?”

“One way to find out,” Lois says with a shrug.  She leads the way out of the break room, walking slowly enough for Alex to shuffle along behind her, and pushes through the door into Lucy’s room.  General Lane is on the edge of the bed by Lucy’s feet, his wife in the chair Alex had slept in, gripping at Lucy’s hand.

“So you got yourself blown up, kid?” Lois folds her arms over her chest.

“Technically I got myself cut in half,” Lucy says, wrinkling her nose.  

“Oh, no, kiddo, you were blown up,” Lois says cheerfully.  “There are pictures of a city block missing a few buildings because of a bomb.  Blown.  Up.”

“Lois,” their mother says sharply.

“She’s just cranky that the most newsworthy thing in ages has happened in National City and she didn’t get the scoop,” Lucy says with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s totally it,” Lois deadpans.  She leans in to hug Lucy, careful and gentle.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lucy says.  “Thanks for coming.”

Alex hovers near the door, hands tight behind her back, and shifts her weight tiredly, looking anywhere but at the family in front of her.  Lucy’s mother glances over at her and squeezes at Lucy’s hand, tilting her head towards Alex.

“This is Alex,” Lucy says, jerking her head to call Alex over.  “Alex, this is my mom.  You’ve met Dad and Lois.”

“Amal,” Lucy’s mother says, transferring her grip on Lucy to free up her right hand and offer it to Alex.  

“Alex Danvers,” Alex says, quiet and hesitant, as she shakes Amal’s hand.  “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Alex works with me,” Lucy says carefully.  

“You’re military?” Amal says.

“Not exactly,” Alex says, clearing her throat.  

“She’s a civilian consultant,” General Lane says gruffly.  

“What kind of consultant?”

“Biological engineering and biomechanics,” Alex says, squaring her shoulders.  

“Lucy always did like the smart ones,” Lois says with a smirk and a gratuitous wink.  

Alex flushes darkly and clears her throat.  Lucy glares at Lois, grinding out her sister’s name angrily.

“What--  _ oh _ ,” Amal says. “You two are--”

“Danvers,” General Lane snapped, on his feet far too quickly for someone of his size and age.  “With me.  Now.”

“Dad, wait,” Lucy says.  “Dammit, Lois.”

“Oh, come on,” Lois says with an eyeroll.  “You’ve been talking my ear off about her for ages, and half of it has been about how you want to tell them, she’s clearly spent the night sleeping in your hospital room, it’s outrageously obvious that you two are together, so stop being a wuss about it and buck up.”

“You’re an asshole,” Lucy mutters.

“Lucy,” Amal says, sharp and maternal. “Be nice to your sister.”

“Agent Danvers,” General Lane says again.  

“Dad!” Lucy says, insistent enough that it pulls at the stitches holding her chest together and yanks a cry of pain out of her.  The whole room freezes, the tension in General Lane’s frame shifting from angry to concerned and Alex jerking towards the bed, hands out uselessly.  

“I’m okay,” Lucy grinds out.  “I’m fine.”

“You need--” Alex starts; Lucy glares at her and her mouth snaps shut.

“I’m fine,” Lucy says again.  “And I’m an adult, Dad, so you don’t need to threaten Alex with a shotgun or a CIA black site or anything like that, okay?

“Lucy,” he starts.

“Dad,” she says quietly.  “This isn’t a relationship I take lightly, okay?   I went into this with my eyes open, we both did, and we’ve been together for over a year.  This  _ matters _ .”

“Okay,” Amal says, taking Lucy’s hand again and smiling at her, then up at Alex.  “Okay.”

“You work together,” General Lane says, jaw tight.  

“I know,” Lucy says.  She stares him down, imposing even when she’s unable to stand from a hospital bed, until he relents.

“Okay,” he says after a long silence.  Alex looks between the two of them, back and forth, unsure of what to say or do until Lois clears her throat.

“Alex,” she says.  “You probably need to get some sleep in a real bed.  I can drive you home.”

“I’m fine,” Alex says.

“You can barely stand,” Lucy says, one eyebrow raised.  It pulls at the side of her face that’s bruised and swollen and Alex’s fists clench momentarily.  

“Okay,” she says quietly.  She glances from Lucy to Lucy’s parents, not moving, and Lois rolls her eyes.

“Mom, Dad, let’s give them a second,” she says, clapping her hands and gesturing to the door.  “Come on.”

General Lane glowers, not moving until Amal pulls at his shoulder, tugging him bodily to the door.  Lois flaps her hands at them, chasing them through the door and glancing back to wink at Lucy and Alex before disappearing through the door herself.

“Hey,” Lucy says quietly.  “Are you okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Alex says, collapsing back into the chair and rubbing at her eyes.  “How are you feeling?  Are the pain meds working?”

“Alex,” Lucy says.  “I’m fine.  Minus that whole intensive care thing.  How are you?  Are you okay with what--”

“Yes,” Alex says.  “What about you?  Your sister outed us.”

“I mean, technically she only outed you, I guess; I’ve been out to them,” Lucy says, trying for a smile.  “I’m sorry that she--”

“I’m not hiding in a closet anywhere, Lucy,” Alex says with a shrug.  “Haven’t for a long time.  I can’t say that I wanted the whole telling your parents about us thing to happen in a hospital after I--”

“You’re not about to blame yourself for this again, are you?”

“Lucy, please,” Alex says.  Her voice cracks.  “Stop pretending like there was anything but a bad choice to make.”

“I don’t blame you,” Lucy says firmly.  “No one does.”

“Your dad will.”

“My dad never likes the people I date,” Lucy says, rolling her eyes.  

“Wonderful,” Alex mumbles.  She takes a slow breath in and pushes it out, counting to six on the exhale.  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“You need sleep,” Lucy says.  “Real sleep.  In a bed, not a chair.”

“It’s not that bad,” Alex says weakly.

“I’m very clearly not going anywhere,” Lucy says, rolling her eyes.  “Get Lois to sleep, too, okay?  It’s better if she and Dad are-- well--”

“Okay,” Alex says.  She aims for a smile but her whole body protests, exhaustion pushing on spine.  “Will do.”  She pushes at the arms on the chair, propelling herself to a standing position; her left arm almost buckles when the line of stitches strains under the pressure.

“You’re hurt,” Lucy says, eyes wide, and Alex laughs-- a real laugh, somehow, the sound as bright as she is tired.

“Seriously?” Alex says.  “You’re one to talk.”

Lucy rolls her eyes again and reaches out with her uninjured arm, snapping her fingers until Alex rolls up her sleeve and offers her arm for inspection.

“Left arm,” Lucy says after a moment.  “And no broken bones.  That’s new and different for you.”

“Ha ha,” Alex deadpans, yanking her arm back into her own possession, but she’s smiling and it isn’t the chore it has been since the night before.  

“Now go home, okay?” Lucy says.  “But first you have to kiss me.  Because I’m wounded.”

“Clingy much?” Alex says with a smirk, stepping closer to the bed and leaning down to kiss her anyways.  “I’ll come back tonight.”

“Bring me something to work on.”

“Yeah, no, definitely not,” Alex says.  She kisses Lucy again, careful and easy, and steps back to gather her things.  “You’re on bedrest for approximately forever now, director.”

“Jerk,” Lucy mutters.  Alex blows her a kiss from the doorway and winks.

“Alex,” Lucy says suddenly.  “Say it again.”

Alex pauses, turning back to face her.  “I love you,” she says, clear and quiet.

“I love you, too,” Lucy says.  “Now shoo.”

Alex rolls her eyes and makes her way out into the hall, where she’s welcomed by General Lane’s glare.

“Come on,” Lois says, hooking a hand through her elbow and pulling her down the hallway.  “He’s going to take a while to--”

“Right,” Alex mutters.  She looks back anyways.  General Lane is watching them go, shoulders square and jaw set.  

* * *

Lois drops Alex off with a promise to go back to her hotel and sleep, and Alex drops down onto her bed with a groan.  Her head throbs with exhaustion, matching the ache in her arm, but sleep doesn’t come, and after an hour of staring at the ceiling she drags herself up to shower.  

She’s only just out of the shower, her skin bright red from the hot water and hair wet, when there’s a loud knock at the door.

“Just a sec,” she shouts, groaning as her ribs protest.  She scrambles into a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt and hurries to the door, yanking it open expecting to see Kara. Instead, General Lane stands on the other side.

Alex lets out a breath and steps back, welcoming him in silently.

He walks into the apartment, equally quiet, and paces slowly into the living room and waits for her to follow.

“General,” she says.

He turns to face her, his eyes flicking down to her shirt-- which, of course, is one of Lucy’s from West Point, faded and well-worn-- and back up again.

“Give me on goddamned reason why I shouldn’t be dismantling your entire career as we speak,” he says.  His voice is tight enough to snap in the air between them.

Alex sighs and rubs at her eyes.  She’s too tired for this.

“That’s what I thought,” he says.  He sighs as well.  “I’m not going to, but only because Lucy won’t speak to me again if I do.”

“Oh,” Alex says faintly. “I-- thank you?”

“Let me be very clear, Agent Danvers,” he says.  “You need to have an answer when someone asks you that question, because I won’t be the last one.  If you’re going to break a dozen rules and drag my daughter into it, then you sure as hell better have a contingency plan in place and be able to answer for it.”

“The DEO isn’t a military organization,” Alex says sharply.  “It doesn’t have any rules about fraternization.  We’re not breaking any rules or doing anything illegal.”  

“No, just stupid,” he throws back.  “Do you have any idea the precarious situation your organization is in every day?  A black budget organization that flaunts oversight continually because you have a senator in your pocket and an alien enforcer?  If you think I’m the only person who wants to shut you down, you’re far stupider than I thought.”

“We have oversight,” Alex grinds out.  “Congress is in there every other day crawling up our ass about everything from our uniform choice to how field agents blow their noses.”

“And what do you think is going to happen when they finds out that the directors are in a romantic relationship?  Agencies have gone down for less.”

“We’re not going to--”

“Yes, you are!” he yells.  “Do you really not understand that you won’t be able to get away with this forever?  If you want to tank your career, be my guest.  But if you drag my daughter’s career down with you then so help me God, I will ruin you and your agency  _ and _ your precious Supergirl--”

“What do you want from me, then?” Alex’s voice wavers, jagged and exhausted, and her arm throbs.  “Do you want me to quit my job?  Leave the DEO?  Convince Lucy to go back into the Army and work for you?  Are you seriously so out of touch with your daughter that you don’t realize how much happier she is working at the DEO?  Not because of me, but because she’s an even better agency director than she was attorney, and she  _ likes _ working there.”

“If I said I wanted you to quit, then would you?” He stares down at her, arms folded over his chest.  “Walk away from the job and your pet alien for good, so that you can continue to date my daughter without endangering her career?”

“I--”

“That’s what I thought,” he says, low and dark and looking down at her the way he likely looks at smudges on his boots.  He advances on her, stepping well into her personal space and glowering down.  Alex holds her ground, lifting her chin and staring back up at him.  

“Find a way to fix this mess,” he says quietly.  “Clean house, and make sure my daughter won’t be hurt anymore than she already has been, and  _ maybe _ I won’t find a way to ship you to a basement laboratory in the Omaha FBI field office.”

He shoves past her and strides out of the apartment, shutting the door heavily behind him and leaving Alex standing in her living room, exhausted and angry and uncertain.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s been two days-- since Lucy woke up, since her family arrived, since an uneasy silence settled between Alex and Lucy’s family, since her family took over the hospital room during the day and Alex settles in for the evenings-- and Lucy is sleeping, breathing shallowly through her damaged lungs and broken ribs.  

Alex shifts in her chair, her back protesting the hours she’s been sitting there, and gives up on pretending to address the work in her lap.  She shoots an email over to Vasquez--  _ I’m going offline, you have command until further notice _ \-- and shuts the laptop with a sigh.  Lucy’s heart monitor beeps quietly, comfortingly, and Alex props her chin in her uninjured hand, watching Lucy sleep for long moments.  Her stitches itch, and she digs her fingernails on one hand into her thigh to stop from scratching and counts the beeps on Lucy’s heart monitor.

She digs her phone out of her pocket and dials before she can stop herself.

“Hey, Mom,” she says softly, slumping back into the chair.  “Sorry, I know it’s late, but-- can you come down to National City?”

It’s a two hour drive from Midvale, and Alex scrawls a note to Lucy, kisses her forehead, lingers for long minutes, before she heads home.

* * *

“Hey,” she says, exhausted, when she lets her mother in.

“What happened?” Eliza says sharply, reaching immediately for the bleak line of stitches marring Alex’s arm.  She’d pulled the bandage off when she got home, the catch of stitches on gauze an additional irritation she was unwilling to deal with.

“It’s a long story,” Alex mumbles.  “I’m okay.”  She doesn’t protest when Eliza shuts the door behind her and manhandles Alex over to the couch.

“I’ve got time,” Eliza says.  She pulls Alex’s arm closer, inspecting the stitches and humming her approval before settling further into the couch.

“I screwed up,” Alex says, curling around her knees.  

“Sweetie, I’m sure--”

“You know that J’onn left the DEO, right?” Alex interrupts.  “And Lucy Lane and I stepped in as co-directors.”

“Right,” Eliza says slowly.

“Lucy and I are--” Alex cuts herself off, swirling her hands ineffectively.  “Together.  For over a year now.”

“Oh,” Eliza says faintly, blinking rapidly.  “You and Lucy Lane are running the DEO together.  And are...dating?”

“Told you I screwed up,” Alex mumbles into her knees.

“Is it serious?  You and Lucy?”

“Yeah,” Alex says.  She smiles halfway, pulling her knees tighter into her chest and resting her chin on them.  “It is.”

“Okay,” Eliza says.  She smiles and leans forward, wrapping Alex up in a tight hug.  “I’m happy for you, sweetie.”

“Thanks,” Alex mumbles into her shoulder.  She takes a deep breath and pulls back.  

“When do I get to meet her, then?  She must be pretty special if you’ve been together this long.”

Alex grimaces.  “That’s the long story part,” she says.  She gestures to her stitches.  “Lucy was hurt.  Badly.  She’s in the hospital.  She’ll recover, but it’ll be a while, and--”

“What happened?”

“We weren’t even working,” Alex says bitterly.  “We were just at dinner.  Kara was there.  We were just hanging out and some assholes decided to blow up a bank across the street and just happened to have a shitload of kryptonite just in case Supergirl showed up and--”

“What?  Is Kara okay?” 

“She’s fine,” Alex says.  “Promise.  Lucy just-- she’ll recover.  But her family is here, and her dad is military and he’s--- not happy.”

“Not happy how, exactly?”

“He wants me to quit the DEO.”  Alex slumps back into the couch, rubbing at her eyes.  “But I  _ can’t _ , not with Kara, and--”

“Hey,” Eliza says sharply.  “Slow down.  You don’t have to make a decision about this right now.”

“Mom, I can’t just leave the DEO.”

“But do you want to leave Lucy instead?”

“I--  _ no _ ,” Alex says.  “Not even a little bit.  But General Lane is right, we can’t keep this up, we’re being idiots and--”

“Alex!” Eliza says, gripping at her shoulder.  “Calm down, okay?  We’ll figure this out, and everything will work out, but you don’t have to figure it out right now.”

“I’m so tired, Mom,” Alex says, spine curving under the weight of Eliza’s hand on her shoulder.  “I’m just tired.”

“Come on, sweetie,” Eliza says.  “Let’s get you to bed, you need some sleep.”

“Okay,” Alex mumbles.  She lets Eliza pull her to her feet and guide her to the bedroom, settling heavily onto the mattress and curling under a pillow.  Eliza pulls a blanket up over her, easy and familiar, and Alex is asleep by the time Eliza turns off the light and shuts the door.

* * *

It’s midmorning when Alex wakes, to a dying phone and a text message from Lucy insisting Alex bring her tacos for dinner because the hospital food is terrible.

Alex shuffles out of the bedroom to where Eliza is settled at the kitchen table, papers spread all over and a cup of coffee settled precariously amidst them.

“Hi,” Alex mumbles.  “What’s--”

“There’s coffee,” Eliza says, not looking up.  “And breakfast.  I went to the grocery store.  You need food that isn’t fried sugar pastries and protein bars.”

“But I like fried sugar pastries,” Alex says with a grumble.  She pours herself a cup of coffee and settles at the table, drinking quietly as Eliza continues scanning through the papers in front of her.  

“I’m going to resign from the DEO,” Alex says after she’s finished her coffee.  She traces the edge of her coffee mug, staring intently down into the empty porcelain.  Eliza doesn’t look up.  “I know I’m supposed to be protecting Kara, but I also have to think about how well the organization will be able to function in that capacity as opposed to me on my own, and it’s the smart thing to do.”

“Of course it is,” Eliza says distractedly.  She staples a stack of papers together and adds it to one of the messy piles on the table before looking up.  

“Really?”

“Yes, of course,” Eliza says.

“Thought I was going to have to fight a bit harder on that,” Alex says, squinting across at her mom.

“Well,” Eliza says, smiling widely.

“Oh no,”  Alex says.  “I know that look.  What did you--”

“You’re going to be a consultant,” Eliza says, her smile widening somehow.  “Just hear me out--”

“Mom--”

“Alexandra,” Eliza says sharply.  “Listen to me.”

“Yes ma’am,” Alex mumbles into her coffee cup.

“I called J’onn after you went to sleep,” Eliza says.  

“Mom--” Alex says with a groan.

“He agrees that you shouldn’t be dating your co-director,” Eliza says over her.  “And that the easiest way to deal with that is for you to resign.  But he also thinks you should stay involved with the DEO, so we decided that you’re going to start a consulting business.”

“A what-- Mom, I can’t be a consultant and date the boss of the agency I’m consulting for, that’s just as bad--”

“You’re not going to be hired by the DEO, though,” Eliza says, pointing at Alex in an extremely scholarly way.  “J’onn and Senator Crane’s outreach organization is going to hire you, which is perfectly legitimate because you  _ are _ an expert in the field, and then you’ll be on loan as an independent asset to the DEO.”

Alex blinks up at her, mouth dropped open.  “Say what now?”

Eliza gestures to the stacks of paper in front of her.  “I looked up everything you need to officially start a business.  You can set it up as a LLC for tax purposes, and in this day and age, and since you already have a guaranteed revenue stream and don’t need to market yourself, you don’t need a physical office.  We can set up a website and email account to make it official, file the paperwork, and then J’onn can get you into the system as a vendor for his organization and you can start immediately--”

“Mom,” Alex says weakly.  Eliza continues on, pointing excitedly at different stacks of papers as she rambles about tax structures and verified independence.  “Mom!”

“What?”

“What-- how did you figure all this out?  What just happened?”

“Alex,” Eliza says, dropping back down into her chair.  “You’re my daughter.  I want you to be happy, and you won’t be happy if you have to leave the DEO entirely,  _ or _ if you have to give up Lucy, clearly, since you haven’t liked someone enough to tell me about them since you were nineteen years old.  I had to find out about your last relationship from Kara’s Instagram, and before that it was because your PhD advisor told me.”  

Alex blushes and clears her throat, staring down into her coffee mug as Eliza keeps talking.

“I want you to be happy,” Eliza says again.  “So, if I can help you find a way to balance your relationship with Lucy and your work at the DEO and with Kara, then-- why wouldn’t I?”

Alex takes a slow breath in.  “A consulting business?” 

“Yes,” Eliza says with a grin.  “What do you think?

“Okay,” Alex says after a moment.  She takes another deep breath and blows it out heavily.  “Lucy can restructure the chain of command at the DEO and--”

“Alex,” Eliza says.  “Why don’t you just go talk to her about it, okay?”

“Right,” Alex mumbles.  “I--yeah.  I’m going to shower.”

“Good idea,” Eliza says with a wink.  “You smell like hospital.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Alex says, rolling her eyes.  She pauses to hug Eliza, holding on tight for a brief moment and mumbling a thank you into her shoulder before disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

That evening, Alex walks into the hospital with her bag full of completed paperwork, an unsigned letter of resignation on top of the stacks of forms necessary to establish a consulting business with one owner-employee, and pauses in the hallway outside of Lucy’s room.

One of the nurses-- Cathy, quiet and younger than Alex, who snuck in an extra pudding every time Alex was there-- smiles up at her from the nurses’ station.

“The family isn’t in there,” she says kindly.  “Go on in.”

Alex smiles uncertainly at her and mumbles a quiet thanks, pushing the door open and poking her head in.

“Did you bring tacos?” Lucy says immediately.

“I did not,” Alex says.  “Take it up with the doctors.”

“Coward,” Lucy mutters.  Her eyes flick down to the sheaf of papers sticking out of Alex’s bag.  “Is that work?  Please tell me it’s work, I’m bored.”

“Not exactly,” Alex says.  “And, you know...hi.  Nice to see you.  How’s the gaping wound in your chest?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lucy says, rolling her eyes.  “You’re just as bad when you’re in a hospital bed, so don’t give me that shit.”

“How charming,” Alex says as she settles into her chair.  

“So what is it?” Lucy gestures to the papers.  “Don’t leave me hanging.  I’m desperate for entertainment.”

Alex sighs.  “Did I tell you that your dad came by my place?”

“He what?  What did he--”

“As far as I know he’s not going to send me to Siberia,” Alex says drily.  “I think.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Lucy mutters.

“Don’t,” Alex says.  “He-- well, he made some good points.  About how we shouldn’t be--”

“If the next words out of your mouth are you breaking up with me for some stupidly noble reason, then I don’t care how much it hurts, I’m going to punch you.”

“No!” Alex says, shaking her head.  “Of course I’m not breaking up with you.”

“Good,” Lucy says, just as Alex takes a deep breath and adds “I’m going to resign from the DEO.”

“You  _ what _ ?” Lucy says, so loud it makes her cough.  The heart rate monitor spikes momentarily.

“Just-- hear me out,” Alex says.  She reaches for Lucy’s hand, but it stays clenched in a fist under hers and she pulls back, shrinking back into her chair.  “I’m not leaving the DEO.  Not entirely.”

“Not  _ entirely _ ?  What the hell does--”

“Lucy, please,” Alex says over her.  “Hear me out, okay?  Please.”

Lucy glares at her, jaw clenched shut, and Alex sighs and digs the paperwork out of her bag for Lucy to inspect as she walks through the plan Eliza and J’onn came up with.

“Consulting?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, leaning her chin on her hand.  “I would contract through J’onn and Crane’s group, and be on loan to the DEO.  It would put me outside of the chain of command but still keep me involved with the team and with Kara, without creating any suggestion of impropriety.”

“I like impropriety,” Lucy mutters.  “Especially the impropriety when you bend me over a desk in our  _ shared private office _ .”

Alex rolls her eyes and clears her throat and Lucy winks, more or less, through the bruising on her face that’s just started to fade.

“So how would this work, precisely?”

“I’d be based at the DEO,” Alex says with a shrug.  “My dad was technically a science officer under Henshaw, but he still went on missions as part of the tactical teams, so basically like that.  I would officially be contracted under J’onn, so I’d have to fly out sometimes to work with the DC team, but probably only around once a month.”

“Right,” Lucy says distractedly, paging through the documents in front of her.  “What about the DEO?  We have a good structure in place.  We’ve gotten more official in the last year and it’s increased the administrative load, I can’t do all of that on my own.”

“Promote Vasquez to assistant director, move Harrison to her tactical oversight position.  She’s basically been functioning as one every time one of us is out, and he’s been talking about wanting to be in the field less since he and his wife are trying to have a baby.  It’s a good fit for both of them.”

“And how are we supposed to explain all this to the team?  Everyone, Director Danvers and I are banging so she’s quitting and coming back as a consultant so we can continue banging?”

“Probably not with that exact phrasing.” Alex rolls her eyes.  “Really, though.  What do you think?”

“I think I’m still going to punch my dad,” Lucy mutters.

“Babe, please,” Alex says with a sigh.  

“I don’t like it,” Lucy says, dropping the papers in her lap and shrugging with one shoulder.  It pulls at the damage in her left arm anyways and she winces.  Alex leans forward, half out of her chair and hands hovering and ready, but Lucy shakes her head and clenches her jaw until the pain subsides and Alex settles back into her seat.

“Why?”  she says, folding her arms over her chest to keep from reaching for Lucy.

“Because you shouldn’t have to quit the DEO just for--”

“For you?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Because you started this job for a good reason, and you’re really good at it, and Kara--”

“I’ll still be there to help protect Kara,” Alex says.  “So will the entire DEO, which you will still be running, and I trust you more than anyone else to look out for her if I’m off dealing with something in DC.  I just-- don’t want this to be a risk to your career, because you’ve worked really hard for it.”

“This as in us?”

“Yeah,” Alex mumbles.  She rubs at her eyes and sits up straighter.  “I want us to work.  And I want to keep working with the DEO.  I’m willing to make the compromise so that I can be with you without risking your career  _ and _ still protect Kara with the DEO.”

“Why do you have to be the one who compromises?  That’s not fair to you.  We’re both in this, so why are you the one who has to fall on her sword and abandon her career?”

“Oh, gee, I don’t know, maybe I want to choose you this time because three days ago I didn’t and you’re in a hospital bed with nerve damage and a collapsed lung?”

“Alex,” Lucy says quietly.

“Lucy, please, just-- let me do this, okay?” Alex’s voice wavers.  “This is a good idea.  It’ll protect us from people like that douchebag congressman, and I’ll still be at the DEO and can work with you and Kara, and you and I can still--”

“Alex,” Lucy says again.  She pushes a hand against her chest over the stitches, as if it will push her broken ribs and torn lungs back into working order, and Alex’s teeth ache.  “Guilt is a shitty reason to do something like this.”

“It’s not just guilt.”  Alex rubs at the back of her neck and leans back in the chair.  “We both knew we were going to have to deal with this at some point, and that’s now.  Even if you weren’t--” she huffs out a tight breath, gesturing vaguely towards Lucy’s broken body.  “--it would still make more sense for me to do this than for you.  You have a career trajectory.  I don’t.  You have more credibility with congress because of your military background than I do, and it’s easier to sell the idea of my background fitting into consulting.”

Lucy frowns down at the papers in her lap and thumbs through them again.  “I still don’t like it,” she says after a moment.  “But you’re right.”

“Well, I mean, yeah,” Alex says, forcing a smile and a lilt into her voice, her breath catching in her chest until Lucy smiles back at her, at least a little bit.

“So how’s this going to play out?”

“I’ll call J’onn tomorrow,” Alex says.  She retrieves the paperwork from Lucy and shoves it back into her bag.  “We can put the paperwork in in the next few days.  I won’t resign until you’re back at work.”

“I’ll be back next week,” Lucy says, wrinkling her nose.

“Yeah, no, definitely not,” Alex throws back.  She shakes her head, pointing sharply at Lucy when she shoves her lower lip out into a pout.  “Not working this time and you know it.  Don’t even try.”

“Ugh,” Lucy huffs out.  “Fine.  But you owe me entertainment.  Or at least to get me the hell out of here so I can recover at home.”

“I don’t have the clout to overrule your doctors,” Alex says.  “So sorry.”

“Actually,” Lucy says.  “I was thinking about that.”

“Lucy,” Alex says sharply.  “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.”

“You’re technically a doctor,” Lucy goes on.  “And a certified field medic.”

“Oh, no.”

“You’re completely capable of taking care of me--”

“I went to medical school!” Alex says.  “That’s it.  I didn’t do a residency.  I’m not a doctor.”

“Technically, you’re a doctor squared,” Lucy says with a grin.  “Babe, come on.  I can recover just as well at home as I can here.”

“No,” Alex says.  “Definitely not.”

“Alex,” Lucy says.  “Come on.”

“Absolutely not.”

* * *

A week later, Alex sighs heavily as she pulls to a stop in front of Lucy’s apartment building.

“I still can’t believe you talked me into this.”

“Seriously,” Kara says from the passenger seat.  “I was trying to figure out if there’s a Kryptonian word for how   _ whipped  _ you are, but I couldn’t think of one.”

Alex glares across the car at her before stomping back to the trunk.  Lucy is pale but smiling in the backseat, a stack of paperwork and medications and instructions next to her, and Alex sighs again as the pulls the wheelchair out of the trunk.

“I can walk--”

“No!” Alex and Kara says together.  

“Fine,” Lucy mumbles.  She smiles anyways as Alex and Kara help her into the wheelchair, even when her chest aches under the bandages and her limbs shake with the effort.

The paperwork for Vasquez’s promotion and Alex’s resignation sit in Alex’s bag, waiting for Lucy’s signature to finalize them.  Eliza has already enlisted Winn to build a website for Alex’s consulting business, against Alex’s protests that her business is halfway to a sham.  She has a conference call with J’onn and Senator Crane’s office in two days to discuss the contract they’ve drawn up for her, and there’s already stacks of paperwork creeping up and waiting for her at her apartment.  

Lucy is out of the hospital, though, and her body is knitting itself back together around the stitches and splints and bandages, so Alex takes a deep breath and pushes the wheelchair into the building and towards the elevators, taking Lucy home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this is actually the end this time i promise


End file.
